Reading the Hero: Book 1
by Cathedryl14
Summary: Percy & Co are taken to Olympus to read Percy's life. By whom? Why?
1. Chapter 1

**Reading Book 1: The Lightning Thief**

**By Cathedryl14**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! Rick Riordan is right up there with Goddess-Queen JK Rowling. They are my childhood and I will never take credit for their works.**

**A/N: I know there have been a lot of these and that I haven't updated my other stories, but the truth is I have writers block with them and this one wouldn't leave me alone.**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

**-Percy's PoV-**

It had been a week and a half since I fulfilled the Great Prophecy and became the Hero of Olympus. I was just sitting down to eat dinner with the rest of camp when a black vortex surrounded me and I was gone.

**-Annabeth's PoV-**

I was just sitting down for dinner when I heard a shout and looked towards the Poseidon table just as a black vortex opened up and closed around my ex-boyfriend Percy Jackson, we only lasted a week, four years of flirting and fighting and we didn't work. Just then a white light surrounded me and several others and we found ourselves on Olympus. However, there was no sight of Percy, until the same black vortex appeared and dropped him off with Lady Hestia.

**-Percy's PoV- **

**(A/N I will try not to change that much.)**

I found myself in a strange room surrounded by people I could sense were immortal and powerful. I was about to ask who they were when a woman in white stepped forward and spoke.

"We mean you no harm Perseus Jackson. We only wish to help you with the battles and war about to come. I am Hemera, primordial of the Day, this is Aether, my husband and primordial of Light and the Upper Atmosphere," she pointed to a man dressed in white, then to a woman in all black, "This is Nyx, my mother and primordial of Night," to a man dressed in black, "My father Erebus, primordial of Darkness," then to two more men a black and one in blue, "They are Chaos, primordial of Disorder and the Beginning and my Grandfather, Thanatos, the primordial of Death, and Ouranos the primordial of the Sky," and to an elderly couple, "Finally, Chronus, the primordial of Time and his wife, Ananke, the primordial of Inevitability."

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"As Hemera said, we only with to help you, but one more is needed," Chaos said before another vortex opened up and Lady Hestia was deposited on the hearth. "There, now we are going to bless you and make you our champion," Chaos finished.

"Oh," the Goddess of the Hearth said, "That's why I am here."

"Bless me? Make me your champion? How? What does that mean?" I asked confused.

"Did you learn nothing at that camp boy?" Nyx hissed at me.

"No, I was hardly there. Every time I got there I had to go on one quest or another to save the world from my dear grandfather Kronos, so no, I haven't learned anything about this from camp," I responded seriously with heavy sarcasm about Kronos.

"You dare," Nyx started before Chaos broke in.

"Enough, we will explain," he stated glaring at Nyx.

"I'll go first," Hestia said coming up to me, taking my hand, and sitting me on the floor by the Hearth with her. "Okay, by saying you are our champion it allows us to get around some rules that block us and we can bless you and bestow gifts associated with us on you, so that you will have a better chance in this next war, then we, you and I, are going to Mt. Olympus with these books and reading them with the other gods and several demigods," she explained pointed to a set of books be her feet.

"Okay, I'm ready," I said facing her.

She smiled and touched her hand to my forehead. When she was done she stepped back and smiled.

"We will give you a list of all your gifts when we are done and you and Hestia are heading to Olympus," Chaos said coming up and touching my forehead.

Next Nyx went then Erebus, Chronus, Ananke, Thanatos, Ouranos, Hemera, and finally Aether. They all either touched my forehead or my shoulder, but when Aether did I felt a great pain in between my shoulder blades. A ripping sound reached my ears and I felt a liquid run down my back. I yelled.

"Sorry about that," Aether said holding me up as I wanted to collapse from the pain, "It shouldn't have hurt though," he continued confused.

"He has the Curse of Achilles, Aether. His skin wouldn't want to let them through," Hestia said with a sad smile as she poured water down my back to rinse off what I now realized is blood.

"Ah, that does make sense. You should be fine now my boy," Aether responded letting me go, and I was. I reached over my shoulder and felt something. Raising an eyebrow Chaos summoned a mirror and I just stared. I have wings now, 12 beautiful and seemingly deadly wings. I say deadly because of what they are made of. One pair was Celestial Bronze, another Mortal Steel, the next some gold **(A/N: Imperial Gold)**, then Stygian Iron, the same silver as Artemis' throne **(A/N: Orthrytic Silver)**, and the last another dark metal **(A/N: Adamantium)**.

"Okay, I only recognize half of these metals, Celestial Bronze, Mortal Steel, and Stygian Iron. What are the gold, silver, and other black ones?" I asked turning to Aether who was staring in shock.

"Well, they should all be one color, though from the sounds of it you make the impossible possible. The other three are Imperial Gold, Orthrytic Silver, and Adamantium. Imperial Gold is Roman, Orthrytic Silver is what Artemis' throne and chariot are made off, and the Adamantium in the strongest metal and is unbreakable. I have never seen anyone have an object of Adamantium except Krios the Titan of Constellations," Chaos replied.

"Okay, here is a list of your powers, abilities, and even some weapons. Oh, before I forget, because you defeated him, Kronos made you his heir and you have abilities and a weapon from him as well," Chronus said as he handed me a piece of paper.

My jaw dropped as I read it.

**Son of** **Poseidon**-Water Telekinesis, Ability to Heal or Harm with Water, Earthquakes, Can Understand All Creatures of the Sea and Horses, Breath Underwater, Power over Storms, Hurricane Abilities, and Water Transport. **Champion of Chaos**-Control over the Void, Control of chaos, and Black Whole Transport. **Champion of Hestia**-Power of Healing Fire, Power of Harming Fire, and Fire Transport. **Champion of Chronus**-Power over Time and Hour Glass Staff. **Champion of Tartarus**-Power over Torment, Ability to Survive in the Pit, Slight Control over Some Monsters, and Ability to Control Deamons. **Champion of Ouranos**-Power of Flight, More Storm Control, and Can understand All Winged Beings. **Champion of Ananke**-Slightly Prophetic and Ability to See Possible Moves. **Champion of Thanatos**-Control over the Dead, Ability to See and Speak to the Dead, and Ability to Control Angels. **Champion of Nyx**-Control over Night, Strength in the Night, and Ability to See in the Night. **Champion of Erebus**-Control over Darkness, Strength in Darkness, Shadow Travel, and Ability to See in Darkness. **Heir of Aether**-Control over Light, Strength in the Light, A Dozen Wings, Control over the Air, and Ability to See in Any Light. **Heir of Hemera**-Control over Day, Strength in Day, and Ability to See Everything in the Day. **Heir of Kronos**-Power over Time and Ευκαιρία πεπρωμένου-Destiny's Chance. **Heir of Pontus**-Control over the Kraken, Control over Sea Monsters, and Control over All Water and Their Spirits, including the Underworld Rivers and Spirits.

"That is a lot of power. Again, why me? What does it mean by Heir of Aether, Hemera, and Pontus?" I asked.

"Well, technically you are our heir, but will go with champion for now, and we didn't know about Pontus, but it makes sense. The paper only learned of your abilities when you touched it, so that's why we didn't say it beforehand. Anyway, now it is time for you and Hestia to go and read," Aether said, "But first concentrate on making the wings disappear, we want no one to know of this until later, only Hestia will claim to be your Patron for now. We don't want Zeus to become overly paranoid, do we?" he asked jokingly.

I focused on my wings and imagined them gone and then they were.

"Ok, that was cool," I said looking over my shoulder in the mirror.

"Come my champion the council awaits," Hestia said grabbing my hand and the books and nodded to Chaos who raised his hand and another vortex appeared before she pulled me in. Then we were in the throne room.

End of Prologue


	2. Chapter 2: We Start to Relive My Life!

**Reading Book 1: The Lightning Thief**

**By Cathedryl14**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! Rick Riordan is right up there with Goddess-Queen JK Rowling. They are my childhood and I will never take credit for their works.**

**A/N: Unless stated it will be in Percy's PoV, not many, if any changes.**

Chapter 2: We Start to Relive My Life!

Everyone looked to us as we appeared in the throne room.

"Hestia? What are you doing with my son? What are you holding?" Poseidon asked looking towards us.

"I was just making him my champion brother and as for these they are from the Council of Patrons," Hestia replied holding up the books.

"Who?" Athena asked.

"There is a note," Hestia replied handing me the books and reading it. "Dear Demigods, Gods, Oracle, Satyrs, and Champion,

We the Council of Patrons have written down, with the Fates help, the life of Perseus Jackson for you to read. You may not leave the throne room until you have finished all five books, however meals and sleep schedules will be when the gong chimes.

Sincerely, The Council of Patrons" Hestia Finished.

"Well, we might as well read," Zeus said with a shrug, "Why don't you start Perseus," he finished looking at me.

Hestia snapped her fingers and made seats appear for everyone with a comfy armchair between where she sits on the hearth and Artemis' throne before making me sit in it and handing me the book.

** Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief**

**Chapter 1 I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher **

"How do you do that?" Hermes and Apollo ask.

Before anyone could answer a bright light appeared. When everyone else could look they saw a group of teens.

"Look," I said, "Another note," holding it up I read, "We almost forgot these five, and they are needed for this. No fighting is allowed and please try not to get too made at the books as the events have already passed. Now introduce yourselves newcomers, then the other mortals. The Patrons," I read.

A blond haired boy sat forward, "I'll go first. I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and Praetor of New Rome and the Twelfth Legion Fulminta," he said gaining shocked gasps. A dark skilled girl went next, "I am Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto."

"What!" Hades yelped, "You died, in the 30s! How are you here?" he demanded. Nico sank into his seat, but his father saw, "Oh, so you did it," he stated sitting back down.

The boy next to Hazel stood, "I am Frank Zhang, son of Mars," then the pretty, but in a natural and trying to look worse kind of way and failing, girl stood, "I am Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite," the last of the newcomers jumped up and said, "Hey, I am Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus and a Fire user," before sitting back down.

I stood and said, "I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and Hero of Olympus," before pointing to my cousin Thalia.

"I'm Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis," she said before she and Jason hugged and all looked to Zeus and he pointed to Hera.

"He is Roman, she is Greek, they needed to be separated," she snapped with an air of finality.

"I'm Connor Stoll," One started.

"And I'm Travis Stoll," the other continued.

"We are sons of Hermes," they finished together.

"I'm Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter," Katie said.

Next the most unlikely couple stood up, "I am Chris Rodriguez, son of Hermes, and this is my girlfriend, Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares and Drakon Slayer," he said before sitting back down.

Then _she _stood up, "Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and Architect of Olympus," she chirped ignorant of all the glares she was receiving from the people from camp, even Mr. D.

Then my other cousin stood, "I am Nico di Angelo, son of Hades and King of Ghosts," he said eyes flicking between his dad and Hazel, who were angry and in shock respectively.

Finally, the last intro, "Hi, I am Rachael Elizabeth Dare, I am a mortal who can see through the Mist, and the new Oracle of Delphi," she said before sitting in her chair by Apollo.

"Continue reading Percy," my dad said.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

"Who does," the demigods said.

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: **

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES," Nico and Thalia yelled hiding behind their fathers thrones.

"Percy is giving advice? It's the end of the world," they continued until I glared and they retreated back to their seats.

**Close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

"That wouldn't work," Athena stated.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. **

"Yep," the kids say.

**It's scary.**

"True, especially the dreams," we all say with our parents looking that much more worried.

**Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

"The most truthful thing ever, unless your Percy, then no rule applies to ya," Nico said smirking at me.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think its fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages—if you feel something stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before ****_they _****sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

**I'm twelve years old. Until a ****_few _****months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"YES," all the campers yelled, earning my wolf stare.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

"But you agree," Travis yelled, only to hide behind Katie at my look.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff. **

There were groans from everyone, but _her _and Athena.

**I know—it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.**

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"That sounds like Chiron," Hera said.

"It is him," I replied.

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble. **

"Not on your life, Aqualad," Thalia and Nico said.

"Quite Pinecone Face, Death Breath," I said before we all laughed. **(A/N: Perce, Nico, and Thals have a very strong sibling relationship; it is so strong Artemis allows Percy and Nico to visit the Hunt). **The gods and newcomers looked at weird, except for Mr. D, Lady Hestia, and Lady Artemis.

**Boy, was I wrong.**

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway. **

"What were you aiming for?" Hermes asked.

"Uh, I think either a hellhound or the Neaman Lion, it was big and in the shadows, but I don't really remember," I answered.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.**

**This trip, I was determined to be good.**

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and ketchup sandwich.**

"She WHAT," Thalia and the other campers yelled.

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. **

"Oh, I bet Grover would love to hear that description of him Perce," Thalia laughed.

**He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"Can he blow his cover any worse," Mr. D asked.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. **

"What did you do?" Nico asked me.

"Um, one of the older kids were picking on Grover and I and one went to hold us while the other beat us and, um, then they were 50 feet away, unconscious, and soaking wet," I replied looking up into shocked faces.

"How did Chiron not bring you to camp after that? That is a great indicator of your parentage and the fact that monsters would start coming," Mr. D asked incredulously. I just shrugged.

However, before I could start reading again the light brought in Chiron.

"Chiron, how come you did not bring this child to camp after he caused a minor earthquake and geyser at that school you were at?" Mr. D asked him pointing at me.

"I didn't know, that is what caused Grover to call me I am sure, but he never told me that, or I would have," he responded.

**The headmaster had threatened me with death**

"WHAT!" everyone shouted.

**By in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Oh," everyone sighed in relief.

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into. **

"What mess?" all but Chiron asked. We both just winced.

"Um, my first monster," I replied, "Remember dad, it is in the past, I am fine, and no killing or maiming," I said looking him in the eye, he nodded confused.

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"Older in some cases," Athena said.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a ****_stele, _****for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

"No," Nico gasped, "She was your first," looking at me in awe, "How are you alive?"

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. **

"Nah, that's Nico over here," Thals joked trying to lighten the mood but, not many laughed.

**She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month. **

"She still calls everyone Honey," Nico shuddered.

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"Hey, if, Grover said that, did he tell you Chiron, or did he just think she wouldn't do anything?" I asked.

"He did tell me, but I could not figure out what she was, I thought my being there kept her from doing anything, but I guess she was just waiting," he answered.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you ****_shut up_****?"**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

"Always does," the Stolls sighed.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

"Really Chiron, that one," the gods involved groaned.

**"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he ****_did _****this because ..."**

**"Well..." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"**

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

**"Titan," I corrected myself. "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—" **

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

**"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

**Some snickers from the group.**

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Busted," the campers yelled, even the romans.

**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

"We think like a goat," Nico yelled.

"No," I corrected, "You think like the Lord of the Wild."

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed her face even brighter red than her hair. **

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

**"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

"What, ok, when we get back we, Travis and I, are going to give you lessons on how to change the subject Chiron," Connor said with everyone else agreeing.

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

"Far older, and not as much as you think," Chiron said.

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry; this guy pushed me so hard.**

"Sorry about that," I apologized.

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever ****_lived, _****and their mother, and what god they worshipped. But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C— in my life. No—he didn't expect me to be ****_as good; _****he expected me to be ****_better. _****And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"Okay, even I can't do that Chiron," Athena said.

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"I was, she was a great daughter of Athena," Chiron said sadly.

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York State had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, and wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"You two were so childish that summer," Lady Hestia scolded dad and Zeus.

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

"Of course she wouldn't," Nico gripped.

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from ****_that _****school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

"Didn't work did it," the campers asked. I shook my head.

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

We all laughed.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

"Baby," Ares muttered. I glared. He flinched. Everyone gasped.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table. **

Leo and Hephaestus looked at each other and pulled out notebooks simultaneously.

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap. **

"Oh, that dead bitch," Thalia snarled.

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos. **

"Ew," Aphrodite said.

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears. **

"Really?" dad asked, I nodded.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

**"—the water—"**

**"—like it grabbed her—"**

"Hold on," I said, "Was the Mist not working or something? Shouldn't they not be able to see that?" I asked. Hermes shrugged.

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey—"**

**"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

"NO," Hermes and his kids yelled. "You never guess."

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. ****_I _****pushed her."**

"He tried to be a good protector," I said.

"Just not with her," Nico said only to be silenced by my glare. Hades' eyes widened as he now realized who she was and he subtlety pulled armor on.

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

"For good –" Nico started only to squeak when I turned my glare up a notch.

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But—"**

**"You—****_will_****—stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "****_Now_****."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare. **

"Can't be that scary," Ares said. I turned and glared at half the normal intensity. He cringed and had to go change. When he got back all I said was, "That was only half as strong as normal." He whimpered.

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

Here Chiron winced and said, "He came running up after and told me what had happened. I got there as fast as I could after that."

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop. **

**But apparently that wasn't the plan. **

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

"She would," Nico said.

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing. **

"What? The safe thing? Really Percy?" Thalia asked.

**I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

**I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. **

"SO COOL," Travis yelled.

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on ****_Tom Sawyer _****from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"I hate being dyslexic, it makes it so hard to want to read," I said the other demigods agreed. Hephaestus and Athena shared a look.

**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"A FURY!" my dad yelled getting up only for me to step in the way and say, "You promised no killing or maiming dad." Angry he nodded and sat down.

Nico however had to say, "But still, it didn't need to be Alecto."

"NICO," I hissed as Hades had to jump from his throne to dodge a trident.

"Dad STOP, I am fine I didn't get hurt. So, sit down," I said.

**Then things got even stranger.**

"How could that be?" Apollo asked.

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Wimp," Ares muttered only to receive my look.

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

"Still with the honey?" Thalia asked.

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

"That is not natural!" the demigods yelled.

"Well, it is Percy," Clarisse sighed gaining odd looks.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. ****_Hisss!_**

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"Seriously?"

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"Who?" Nico asked.

**I said, "Who?"**

"Ha ha, you think like Kelp Head Gravedigger," Thalia laughed.

Nico and I shared a look, identical EVIL grins stole across our faces and then the shadows and water attacked Thalia. She screamed. Artemis went to attack, and then her screams turned to squeals, of laughter. Nico and I were using out abilities to tickle her. We stopped and she glared, we grinned.

**"Our ****_teacher. _****Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

"Not gonna believe him are ya Perce?" Connor asked me.

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

"Knew it!"

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

"Now, you can lie Chiron," Hermes applauded.

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

I closed the book as a gong rang out and food appeared.

"Who wants to read after we eat," I asked.

"I will," Artemis said talking the book.


	3. AN

Okay, I lied.

The point of view will change to whoever is reading unless I say so.

Any interludes will mostly be Percy.


	4. Chapter 3: The Painful Truth

**Chapter 2 Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks Of Death**

"That is not a title I like. I won't enjoy this chapter will I?" Poseidon asked Perseus.

"No, probably not, and it is not because of the title, but of one other person," he responded looking down.

Then there was another light and a rather beautiful woman and a rather plain man were left sitting there and a note was on my lap.

"Another note," I said picking it up.

"Sally and Paul Blofis are to be here until the end. The Patrons" I read.

Everyone nods and I summon a loveseat for the couple. Sally smiled at me and glared at the daughter of Athena. I wonder why, she is not the only one.

**"I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas. **

"Well, the Mist is working now!" Hermes said.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho. **

"Well," Nico and Thalia started only to be glared at by Perseus, which made me feel weird. I put it off as worry for my Lieutenant.

**It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed. **

**Almost. **

"Grover is the one reason you don't right?" Thalia asked Perseus who nodded, his eyes strayed to mine and he blushed. Strange.

**But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying. **

**Something was going on. Something ****_had _****happened at the museum.**

"Nope, Percy, only the Magic Mushrooms," my idiot brother laughed.

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat. **

Poseidon glared at Hades while Nico and Thalia sat beside their cousin.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood.**

That garnered Perseus strange looks from his father and friends.

**One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. **

Glares were sent to Zeus.

**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year. **

Now they were switched to Poseidon.

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. **

"You were affected by the weather?" Zeus asked. Perseus shrugged.

"Perhaps he was feeling that you were angry brother and it affected him," Hades suggested.

**My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. **

Athena gasped.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. **

"Vocal only," Perseus said before anyone asked.

**I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class. **

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good. **

"I know what it means now," he snarled at Chase as she opened her mouth, presumably to tell him. She flinched back and all the other gods like myself were confused. Aphrodite was looking between the two of them in horror as she realized something, then gave an apologetic look to Perseus.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

"Why?" Athena asked.

**I was homesick.**

She nodded like it was fine, then I remembered she helped Odysseus get home for the same reason.

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, **

Sally smiled. So did Hera.

**Even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

Poseidon's eyes narrowed at that. As did Sally's.

**And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The ****_view _****of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. **

"Awe. Thanks cuz," Thalia cooed. Percy rolled his eyes but put an arm around her.

**I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

"He most likely would be back at camp," Mr. D said.

**I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

Chiron smiled.

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the ****_Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology _****across my dorm room. Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"Don't even think about it Tronner, Cravis," Katie said to the twins of Hermes.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. ****_I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson._**

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said ****_"... _****worried about Percy, sir."**

**I froze.**

"Who wouldn't at that," Thalia said.

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"Have to agree," I said shocking everyone.

**I inched closer.**

**"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the ****_school_****! Now that we know for sure, and ****_they _****know too—"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline— ****_"_**

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he ****_saw _****her... ."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"HEY!" Thalia yelled. "It was MY choice you stupid satyr. I CHOSE to die that day!"

"Well, I'm glad that didn't happen," the other child of Zeus said.

"Well, I did, but I was saved by being turned into a tree by dad until Percy found a way to revive me, though he didn't know it would," she replied to their shocked looks.

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hermes and his boys yelled. "Never give away your position," they finished.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow ****_clop-clop-clop, _****like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me."**

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just... tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

"Satyrs can still sense your emotion," Mr. D sighed.

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back.**

**They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

"When aren't you Shīpurinsu-gō?" Nico asked getting weird looks for the name. "What?" he asked.

"You know Japanese?" Athena asked.

Nico nodded, "The three of us do, it confused Kronos' army when we made battle plans right in front of them," he smirked to his cousins who smirked back.

"What does it mean?" Sally asked.

"Sea Prince," Percy responded smiling at his father who in turn smiled back.

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."**

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

"Alright!" Thalia and Nico said, "That's it, first Grover now you, we're gonna go kill her."

"A) You can't leave here until we finish reading. B) I don't think is will be in the book but I don't just leave quietly, I gave her a gift," Percy responded with a wicked smirk. That strange feeling was back when I saw it.

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say.**

**"This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"CHIRON!" Sally yelled. "Why in the world would you say that?"

Chiron bowed his head in shame.

**My eyes stung.**

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

"That is not what I meant Percy," Chiron said looking at Percy with wide sad eyes.

"I know that now," Percy replied, "Remember I was twelve and had no idea about my heritage."

**"Right," I said, trembling.**

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.**

**"Percy—"**

**But I was already gone.**

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were ****_rich _****juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"I get that you didn't know about your father, but, Percy, honestly, your mother is not a nobody," Thalia said turning to her cousin holding her. He just nodded to her.

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

"That was nice," Aunt Hestia said with a smile.

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"I take that back," she frowned.

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

"STALKER!" the twins screamed holding each other and Katie close.

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"My gods you most likely scared him to death," Mr. D said.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much ****_did _****you hear?"**

**"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

"Not much, just everything," Nico said.

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ..."**

**"Grover—"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

"I didn't say anything about her," Percy sighed.

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

**_Grover Underwood_**

**_Keeper_**

**_Half-Blood Hill_**

**_Long Island, New York_**

**_(800) 009-0009_**

"What?" Athena asked, "Why is it like that Dionysus?"

"It helps them learn English faster," he responded with a sigh.

We all looked at Chiron.

"Well, it is true, but it was all Mr. D's idea," he responded.

**"What's Half—"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or ... or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended ****_me._**

**"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there.**

**On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

"Oh no," Sally said.

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts, and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice****_. _****There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

"My gods, the fates" Poseidon gasped.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

"No," Sally gasped.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"PERCY!" everyone, including myself, yelled, "NOT FUNNY!"

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

"Get on the bus," Poseidon yelled.

"Don't worry, they're not there for me," Percy said.

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that ****_snip _****across four lanes of traffic. **

"Oh Gods," Thalia gasped.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

**The passengers cheered.**

"Of course it works now," Nico sighed.

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

"Everything," Annabeth said earning another round of glares, she then pouted at Percy, who glared back. She flinched.

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

"Much worse," Zeus said.

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.**

"You were perceptive," Athena stated.

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

"Really perceptive," Hermes agreed.

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"Totally Blue Roses though," Percy, Thalia, and Nico said.

"That's the end of the chapter," I said.

"I would like to read," Athena said. I handed her the book.

"Before we read I need to know," Aphrodite started, "What happened to the perfect couple that I found?" she finished looking between Percy and Annabeth.

"Perfect?" Thalia started.

"Couple?" Nico finished.

"Yeah right," Percy snarled.

"What did she do?" Ares asked.

"Where do I start?" Percy asked.

"With the fact that she cheated on you?" Katie asked.

"Or when she told you she used you?" Travis continued.

"Or that she never loved you?" Conner stated.

"That she only wanted the hero not the person inside?" Clarisse sneered at Annabeth, who flinched.

"How about how she fell "out of love" after the war," Chris snorted.

"But most of all when she told me that I am useless now that the Great Prophecy is fulfilled," Percy finished darkly.

Everyone stared at _her, _even Athena was in shock at her daughter. The new demigod of Aphrodite looked at Chase incredulously and asked,

"How in the world do you fall OUT of love? That's not even possible."

"Remember she never loved him. So there was nothing to fall out of anyway," Sally said.

"See! This is all you see of men, but women can be just as cruel," Apollo said imploringly to me.

"Am I right to guess that my hunters know of this? Because after the first visit, they never complained about your cousins visiting Thalia," I asked my lead hunter.

"Yes," she answered simply.


End file.
